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The Latest: UMass to play football this fall, reversing call

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Copyright 2020 The Associated Press. All rights reserved

A doctor takes a nasal swab sample to test for COVID-19 at the Cocodrilos Sports Park in Caracas, Venezuela, Saturday, Sept. 19, 2020, amid the new coronavirus pandemic. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)

The Latest on the effects of the coronavirus outbreak on sports around the world:

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UMass says it will play football this fall, reversing an August decision to postpone the season until the spring.

One of few independents in the Football Bowl Subdivision, the school says it will start in mid-October. Games still need to be scheduled, which could be a challenge because most leagues are playing a limited number of nonconference games, if any.

There will be no fans at any of the team’s home games in Amherst.

UMass was an occasional power in Division I-AA, now known as the Football Championship Subdivision, winning it all in 1998 and returning to the title game eight years later. But since making the jump to the FBS in 2012, the Minutemen have gone 19-77. They left the Mid-American Conference and became an independent in 2016.

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English soccer club Leyton Orient says several players have tested positive for the coronavirus a day before the fourth-division team is scheduled to face Tottenham in the League Cup.

The club says it has informed Tottenham and will make a further announcement later regarding Tuesday’s match. The club’s stadium and training grounds have been closed until further notice.

The club says it has also informed its three most-recent opponents from League Two.

The club says testing was conducted following Saturday’s game. Results show that “a number of our first-team squad have tested positive for COVID-19.”

Those who tested positive will follow government self-isolation guidelines.

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